Process for treating hydrocarbon oils.



L. A. DUBBS. PROCESS FOR TREATING HYDBOCARBON OILS.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.14. |918. 1,319,053. Patented 00A. 21,1919. Q 3 sHEHs-sHEEr l L. A. DUBBS. PROCESS FOR THEAHNG HYnRocARBoN ons.

` APPLICATION F|LED JAN. 14| |918. 1,319,053. Patented Oct. 21,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- L. A. DUBBS. PRocEss FOB TRE/mm; HYDHOCARBON OILS. APPLICATION FILED IAN. I4. I9I8.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEE 3.

N Ng nl Q UNrTnD STATES 'PATENT onirica.

LELAND A. DUBBS, 0F INDEPENDENCE, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNIVERSAL OIL PRODUCTS COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

PROCESS FOR TREATINGr HYDROCARBON OILS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led January 14, 1918. Serial No. 211.710.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, LELAND A. DUBBS, a citizen of the United States, now residing in the city of Independence, county of Montgomery, and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes fork Treating Hydrocarbon Oils, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method for treating hydrocarbon oils to produce therefrom products having lower boiling points.

Among the salient objects of the invention are: to provide a process wherein the oil under treatment is circulated through a coil, or series of coils, in which the oil is heated and then distilled, and through said same coils is circulated a non-re-active abrasive material by mixing same with the oil and acting to prevent the deposits of carbon or other solid matter collecting and ad-V hering to the inner walls of these coils, and alsol acting to polish the inner surface of these coils during the time the oil, while circulating in these coils, is subjected to such pressure and temperature necessary for producing lower boiling point products therefrom 5 to provide a method wherein this abrasive material mixed with the oil can be settled out and separated from the oil while said oil is undergoing treatment for the production therefrom of lower boiling point products; to provide a method whereby an abrasive material can be mixed with the oil while said oil is undergoing treatment, said abrasive material Ibeing injected into the oil at some point between the discharge of the circulatingv pump and the rst heating coils and withdrawing the abrasive material from the oil before said oil again enters the suction side of the cli-rculating pump; to provide in general a process of the character referred to.

In the drawings;

, Figure `1 is a side elevation of the apparatus partly' in section and partly broken awa F1g. 2 is a plan view showing one end of the. heating and distilling coils, the carbon settling tanks, the circulating pump and connections, and top viewY of hopper where the abrasive material is mixed with thevoil.

Fig. 3 is one end view ofthe heating and distilling' tubes.`

Referring to the drawings; A1 is the furnace in which the distilling tubes are positioned; A2 is the furnace in which the heating tubes are positioned; A3 are the tunnels through which the fire passes for heating the furnace, the principle of the tunnel being to prevent the flames from coming Patented oee.21,1919. y

into direct contact with any of the tubes;

A2 is the flue connecting the furnace to the stack A3.

B are parallel substantially level heating tubes.

C are parallel distilling tubes which are slanted. The slanting tubes C at the lower end enter into the tanks D and D1, D2 and D3 are similar tanks connected by pipes D4 and D5, and out of the upper ends of tanks D2 and D3 are overiow lines D6 and D7 connecting with suction line D3 leading into circulating pump E which is operated by motor E1. Out of the same end of tanks D2 and 'D3 are residuum lines D9 and D10 which enter into the common residuum line D11 which can 'be carried to any suitable destination, and on this residuum line is located pressure regulating valve D27. Out of the bottom of tanks D, D1, D2, and D3 are lines D12 and D13 through which the residuum may be withdrawn along with any solid matter deposited 'in these tanks, or the solid matter alone forcedl out through these lines,

D11l D15, D13 and D'17 are steam lines entering the tops of tanks D, D1, D2 and D3. Positioned on these tanksare manholes D18 and D1?, and water gages D20, D21, D22 and D23, and out of the tops of these tanks are vapor manifolds D21 and D25 entering vapor line D26.

F isthe discharge line from the circulating pump E to the heating tubes B, and on this discharge line is pressure gage F1 and pyrometer F2, and also hopper G, having positionedin it steam line G2, connected wlth manifold G1 which manifold connects by means of pipes G2 and G3 to discharge line F. Also connected t0 the line F 1s supply line F3 which .is to'supply the r'aw material to the apparatus by means of anyk standard make of force pump which' is not shown.

B1 is discharge line from the heating tubes `B to the top` of the distilling tubes C and having positioned in it pyrometer B2. 1

H, and H1 are reiiux vapor lmes and p0- sitioned on them is pressure gage 2, these vapor lines enter into manifold H and on this manifold 'is temperature gage H1, andy coils H7 and discharges into the top of receiving tank J. On said receiving tank J is pressure relief valve J1, the gas relief l1ne J2, pressure gage J5, liquid gageA J1, and

Kai Kaz, Kas Kali, liza7 Kas, K2?, Kas, Izii7 K30 are throttle valves.

A1 is a pyrometer positioned in the furnace A2, and A1 and A8 are pyrometers positioned in the furnace A1.

Describing now the operation of the process. The material to be treated is forced into the apparatus through the line F5 until the heating tubes B and tanks D, D1, D2 and D5 are filled and the lower end of the distilling tubes C are full of material to be treated' at which time the circulating pump E is put and maintained in operation. Heat is maintained in the furnace A2 and A1, and the oil as it passes through the tubes B is raised to the desired temperature and this heated oil is passed from said heating tubes B into the top of distilling coil C and then allowed to and vgravitate down through these tubes into either tank D or D1 or both, and the oil flows from these tanks through connecting lines D1 and D5 into tanks D2 and D3 and part of the oil Hows out of the upper end of these tanks through line D11 to supply pump E, and the residuum to be drawn ofi' can be drawn ofi' through line D11 or through any or all of the lines extending out of the bottom of the tanks D and D1, D2,v4 and D1, such lines being marked D12 and D13.

The supply of oil to the pump E is discharged back through discharge line F and positioned in said discharge line Fv is hopper G in which the non-reactive abrasive material is placed, and same can be warmed by the steam line Gr1 if desired, or any other means can be used for warming'the same.

Valves K16 and K11 normally remain closed, while valve K19 remains open, with the valves in this position, the manifold G1 is filled to the desired quantity with a nonreactive abrasive material such as sand from the hopper G, and the valve K21 then closed, likewise the valve K1, while valves K111 and K11 are opened and thus forcing the oil to travel through the manifold G1 and, thus become charged with the nonreactive abrasive material contained in the manifold G1 and force such abrasive material through the heating tubes B and into and through the distillin tubes C into the tank D or D1 and be with rawn through line D12 while the oil overflows through line DA1 0r D5 into tank D2 or D3 where" any further settlement of the abrasive material can take place and' be drawn off from the bottom of said tanks through line D15, and along with this abrasive material will be Settled out of the oil moreorless of its free carbon and other solid contents.

The oil after thus being settled is drawn out of these tanks through the suction line D8 into the pump E vand back through the heating tubes B and rest of the lapparatus and a further supply of abrasive material is added to the oil.

It will be understood that as many of these hoppers may be positioned on the discharge line or arranged so that a continuous supply of abrasive material can be mixed with the oil lundergoin treatment.

The object 1n having two sets of tanks as shown in the drawing is that in case the abrasive material used is of such a nature7 or. the other solids that settle out of the oil are of such-a nature, that they cannot readily be drawn from the bottom of any of these tanks, then one set of tanks can be in operation while the other set of tanks are cut out of the apparatus and cleaned; for instance, tanks D and D2 would be left in operation by the opening -of valves K1, K8, K21, K2, K12 and K12, while tanks D1 and D3 will be cut ofi' from the rest of the apparatus by the closing of valves K5, K1, K22, K25, K11, K15 and K12 and the manheads of the sides of said tanks taken off and said tanks cleaned; they could be further cleaned by steam through lines D11, D16 and D11.

It will also be understood that a similar series of tanks or traps for settling the abrasive material and carbon out of the oil can be positioned in any suitable lace between the heating tubes B and t e distilling tubes C and the settled oil discharged into the top of the distilling tubes C.

The generated vapors will pass up through the vapor lines H and H1 and any vapors liberated in the tanks D,'D1, D2, or D3 will escape up through vapor line D21 and D25 into the vapor line H, and as said vapors pass up through vapor lines H, more' or less of the heavy vapors will be condensed out and return to thedistilling tubes and heating tubes for further treatment,

while the remaining vapors throughV i ling tubes and thus prevent deposits of carbon from forming thereon.

It will also be noted that provi-sion is made for settling out of the oil, after it passes through either the heating tubes or both the heating and distilling tubes, as well as allowing the free carbon and other solid matters contained in the oil to settle out automatically, and the settled oil subjected to further treatment.

,It will be further understood that the principle of vadding an abrasive material to the oil for the prevention of carbon formation on the tubes in which the oil is heated or distilled and the separating out of said oil all or part of such abrasive material applies to any process wherein it can be used, including such process wherein the oil is heated under pressure and including such processes wherein the vapors generated are condensed under preure.

Itygi-,ll 'be understood that the drawings herewll annexed are for the ypurpose of showing the principle involved and are not for the purpose of confining the process to any particu'lar design or constructlon of apparatus.

. I claim as my invention:

l. A process of treating hydrocarbon oils consisting in paing the oil through La closed receptacle seated in a heated zone subl jecting the oil in said heated zone to a pressure and temperature sufficient to crack the oil vand preventing the precipitated carbon from rigidly adhering to the walls of the receptacle by scouring the walls with a substantially non-reactive abrasive material mixed in the oil in a finely comminuted form. 4

2. A process of treating hydrocarbon oils' consist' g in passing the cill through a closed receptacle seated in a heated zone subjecting the oil in said heated zone to a pressure and temperature suiicient to crack.

the oil and bon from rigidly 'adhering to the walls of the receptacle by scouring the walls with a substantially nonfreac'tive abrasive material mixed in the oil in a finely comminuted form such as sand.

3. A process of treating hydrocarbon oils consisting in passing the oil through a closed receptacle seated. in ya' heatedzone subjecting the oill in said heated zone to a pressure and temperature suflicient to crack the oil .and

preventing the precipitated carpreventing the precipitated canbon from rigidly adhering to the walls of the receptacle by scouring the Walls with an abrasive material mixed in the oil in a comminuted form. i

LELAND A. DUBBS. 

